Emanuel W. Wilson

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Emanuel W. Wilson

Emanuel Willis Wilson (born August 11, 1844 in Harpers Ferry , Virginia , † May 28, 1905 in Charleston , West Virginia ) was an American politician and from 1885 to 1890 the seventh governor of the state of West Virginia.

Early years and political advancement

Emanuel Wilson grew up in his hometown. After acquiring legal knowledge himself, he passed his law exam. In 1870 he was elected to the West Virginia House of Representatives. In 1872 he sat for a short time in the State Senate before returning to the Lower House of the State Parliament, where he served as speaker from 1881 to 1883 . During this time he campaigned against the increasing monopoly formation in industry and business.

West Virginia Governor

In 1884, Wilson was elected as the Democratic Party candidate for governor, with 52:48 percent of the vote against Republican Edwin Maxwell , the former Attorney General of West Virginia, prevailed. His term of office began on March 4, 1885. During this time he fought the formation of monopolies and corruption, especially in the political field. He was the only governor of this state to serve for five years. The reason was the controversial gubernatorial election of 1888.

The two competing candidates Aretas B. Fleming for the Democrats and Nathan Goff of the Republican Party only separated about 100 votes. The defeated candidate Fleming then challenged the election in some districts and considered himself the new governor. Since no decision had been made by the regular expiry of Wilson's term of office, both Fleming and Goff were sworn in as governors by their supporters. To make matters even more complicated, Senate President Robert S. Carr, in his capacity as representative of the governor, also claimed this office until the outcome of the election was clarified. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled that incumbent Governor Wilson should remain in office until the outcome of the election was resolved. In January 1890, the democratic majority in the state parliament declared their candidate Fleming the election winner, who was then able to take office on February 5, 1890. On that day, Wilson resigned from office. A similar curious situation was to recur in Georgia in 1946 after the death of Governor Eugene Talmadge , when three candidates also fought over the office of governor.

Another résumé

After leaving the office of governor, Wilson applied unsuccessfully for a seat in the US House of Representatives in 1896 : he was defeated by Republican Charles Dorr . Wilson then worked as a lawyer in Charleston. He was also involved in several business ventures. He died in 1905.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Our Campaigns: WV Governor, October 14, 1884
personal data
SURNAME Wilson, Emanuel W.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wilson, Emanuel Willis (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH August 11, 1844
PLACE OF BIRTH Harpers Ferry , Virginia
DATE OF DEATH May 28, 1905
Place of death Charleston , West Virginia